Day 150 – Rolf ends this reading on dharma explaining its relationship to practice: “Our practice readies our bodies, our hearts, and our minds for the deep work of dreams. As we inhale, we prepare; as we exhale, we deepen the posture. Coming to the mat, we prepare; going forth into our lives, we shine. Our practice is the inhalation, our dharma is an exhalation.” This simple metaphor is heard throughout the book. Daily practice informs, sustains, and continues throughout our daily routines. We find ourselves on the mat. We find that we were not actually lost at all. We were always there.
In this conversation with dharma, Rolf points out that “most of us live in dread of missing our own lives.” He defines dharma as “the recognition that each of us is born with unique gifts, and that it is our path to discover these gifts and share them with others.” Like many, I, too, have been programmed to belief that my unique gifts must be “desribed in a preexisting job description for them to be legitimate.”
Case in point, I am not certified (any longer) in yoga or registered through Yoga Alliance because I got my certification 25 years ago and have taught my entirety through the Y. In the latter years, I used my group ex and personal training certs to “qualify” me. In spreading my wings, I don’t feel “legit.” However, last night, in the arms of my lover and friend, I realized how insanely lucky I am, and that it will all work out. Love, especially deeply comforting love, unconditional love, has a way of dispelling most of my fear and uncertainty.
Rolf describes this: “If we look closely at a stone, we can see traces ofthe fires that created it, and if we look into a person’s eyes we can see reflectiosn of all the eyes they have looked into with love. So it is with dharma. As we reflect on the millions of smiles of our lifetimes, we see our dharma looking back at us with love.” That’s pretty special. Love is dharma and dharma is sacred, and yet it is practical, too.
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